denton



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.v

(Model.)

J. DENTON.

ATTACHMENT FOR KNITTING MACHINES.

Patented Oct. 25,1881.

WITNESSES: T7 INVENTOR; Y

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(Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. DENTON.

ATTACHMENT TOR KNITTING MACHINES. No. 248,719. Patented Oct. 2 5, 1881.

v ATTORNEYS.

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UNTTTD STATES FaTaNT Ormea.,

JAMES DENTON, OF AMSTERDAM, NEV YORK, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND HENRY E. GREENE, OF SAME PLACE.

ATTACHMENT FOR KNlTTlNG-MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 248,719, dated October 25, 1881.

Application tiled March 5, 1881.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JAMES BENTON, of Amsterdam, in the county ot' Montgomery and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Attachments for Knitting-Machines, of which the followingis aspecieation.

The object of my invention is to provide certain newand useful improvements in knitting- Io machines for making knit fabrics with horizontal, vertical, or diagonal stripes or other patterns ot' one or more colors, without breaking the thread whenever the color is to be changed.

1 5 In the accompanying` drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view ot' my striping attachment for knitting-machines and ot' a part of the machine to which it is attached. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of my improved striping attachment for knitzo ting-machines, showing it arranged for making vertical stripes. Fig. 3 is a representation of the vertical and inclined stripes made, with my improved striping attachment. Fig. et represents the zigzag stripes; Fig. 5, 'the diagonal z5 stripes inclined inopposite directions. Fig. 6 is a diamond pattern, all of which are made with my improved striping attachment for knitting-machines. Fig. 7 is a side elevationoi my improved striping attachment for knitting- 3o machines, showing it arranged for making a cheeker-pattern, shown in Fig. 8. Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional elevation ofthecam upon which the pins act. Fig. 10 is a side elevation of my improved attachment for knitting-machines,

showing it arranged for making horizontal stripes, shown in Fig. 1l.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

The barbed knitting-needles A A are fastened iu the upper edge of a rotating cylinder, B, and a sinker-wheel, O, and a presser-wheel, D, operate in combination with needles as in anordinaryknitting-machine. Athread-guidc, E, through which two threads, F and G,pass,

is attached to the bearing ofthe presser-wheel D. A vibrating lever, H, with an eye or loop, 1, at the forward end, is adjustably pivoted by a pin, a, and longitudinal slot b to an arm, J,

(Model.)

which is vertically adjustably fastened by a screw, c, and a slot, d, to an upright, K, which 5o is rigidly fastened to a bed-plate, L, which in turn rests and is secured upon the plate M, supporting the bearings for the several wheels, guides, 85e.

A lever, N, is pivoted to a small upright or post, O, behind the upright K on the plate L, and the front end of this lever N is connected with the inner end of the lever H by a connecting-rod, P. The front end of the lever N is pressed or drawn upward by some suitable 6o spring, which may be ot' any desired construction, a spiral spring,f, attached to the lever N and the arm J, being shown in this ease. A slide, Q, with a beveled cam, It, projecting above the upper edge of the lever N, is fastened to this lever by a screw, g, passing through a longitudinal slot, in the lever and taking in the slide Q.

A beveled-cog wheel, S, piovided with detachable laterally-projecting studs or pins T, 7o arranged along the side thereof, is mounted on a pintle projecting from the side ot' the upright K in such a manner that the pins or studs T will strike the cam R when the wheel S revolves,-and will thus depress the lever N, and consequently raise the outer end ot the vibrating lever H every time a pin or stud, T, strikes this cam R. A bevelgear wheel, U, of the same diameter as the wheel S, engages with the same, and this wheel is rotated by an 8o intermediate cog-wheel, V, which, in turn, is rotated by a wheel, WV, of exactly the same diameter as the wheels U and S and mounted on the shaft of the cylinder B, so that the wheel S will revolve once for every revolution of the cylinder B. The bevel-gear wheels may be replaced by known equivalents, but the wheel S must not revolve any more rapidly than the cylinder B. A longer stud, Y, projects from the side ot' the wheel S and passes into the 9o radial teeth of a similar wheel, A', and thus 'rotates it, which wheel is adjustahly pivoted by a screw,j, and a longitudinal slot, lr, to an arm, B', which is fastened to the upright K by a screw, Z, on the side opposite the one to which the arm J is fastened. This wheel A is also provided with detachable laterally-projeeting pins or studs C', which also are adapted to de press the lever N by coming` in contact with its upper surface when the slide Q is removed, but are only used in place of pins T when horizontal stripes are tobe made. A spring-pawl, D', presses against the teeth ot' the wheel A' and prevents it from rotating freely.

A lever, E', is pivoted to a small post, F', behind the post O, and the lower end of this lever is connected with the slide Q by a connecting-rod, Gv', whereas the upper end is connected with the wheel A' by a connecting-rod, Il', thus causing the slide Q and cam R to move to and fro when the wheel A' rotates.

The inner end of the connecting-rod may be` .acted upon by an eccentric on the shaft otlthe wheel A' or by some other suitable device that will rock the lever E when the heel A' rotates; or the rod p' may connect the slide Q with a lever, J', pivoted to apost, L', and provided with a cam, K', that is acted upon by a semicircular projection, M', of the wheel A', this device being used to make checker pat terns.

The operation is as follows: As has been stated, the wheel S rotates as rapidly as the cylinder. lf a single vertical stripe is to be made in theknit fabric, all the pins or studs T but one of the wheel S are removed, and consequently this remaining pin will strike the cam R, and thus depress the lever N and raise the loop end ofthe vibrating lever H once for every revolution of the cylinder'. If a colored thread, F, passes through the loop l ofthe vibrat-ing lever H and a plain thread, G, passes through the thread-guide E with the thread F, the plain thread G will be raised, as shown in Fig. 2, and the color of this thread will show 011 the outside of the knit fabric; butas soon as the lever H is raised by the action ot' the remaining stud T of the wheel S, the colored thread F will be raised and will show on the outside in place of the plain thread which has been raised during the other part ot' the revolution of the cylinder B. As this colored thread is raised regularly once for every revolution ot' the cylinder a vertical colored stripe will be formed. It' the next stud or pin T is placed into the wheel S, a second colored vertical stripe will be formed a short distance from the first, and all the rest of the goods will be plain. 1f two vertical stripes directly opposite those above named-that is, stripes that will be formed on the opposite side of the cylinderare desired, two pins T T must be placed into the wheel Sdirectly opposite the two pins T T that have formed the first vertical stripes, for the stripes on the fabrics or goods have the same relative position as the pins T on the wheel S. If all the pins T are in the wheel S, there will bejust as many colored vertical stripes in the knit fabric as these pins T in the wheel S, and just as many plain stripes as there are spaces between the pinsthatis, an equal number of both. Theleastsliding motion ofthe cam R either backward or fon ward will cause the stripes to deviate from the vertical line, for if the cam is moved toward the rear of lever N one thirty-second of an inch the pins T of the wheel S will strike it sooner, the loop end of the lever H will accordingly be raised sooner, and the result is the colored thread will he raised a moment before the needle which formed the colored loops at the other revolutions arrives, and the stripe which is formed will be inclined, as is shown in Fig. 3. Itis evident that if the cam is moved in the opposite direction the stripe also will be inclined in the opposite direction, as is also indicated in Fig. 3. As has been stated, thepin Y of the wheel S passes into the teeth of the wheel A', which is thus rotated slowly, and this rotation causes the cam 1t to move forward and backward very slowly as the slide Q is acted upon by the wheel A' by means otthe lever E and the connecting-rods G' and H'. By this reciprocating' movement of the cam R the stripes will be inclined tirst in one direction and then in the opposite direction, or, in other words, zigzag stripes, as shown in Fig. 4, are made. The width of these stripes is regulated by means of the pins T T in the wheel S in the manner described hereinbet'ore.

It' the connectingsrod H' is acted upon by a suitable cam attached to the small wheel A', (not showin) a great variety ot' patterns can be produced, according to the eccentricity of the cam or the formations ot` the edge ofthe same, which may be waved regularly and irregu larly, &c. 1f two or more ot' my attachments are combined with one machine, the variety in design can also be increased.

To make a diamond pattern I use two ot' my attachments, placed opposite to each other on the knitting-machine. The cam on the wheel A' or crank-connection, which is shown in the drawings, is to be so adjusted that the cam 1t will be moved very slowly, and the colored thread will be raised one needle ahead of time at each revolution, whereby a continuous diagonal stripe is formed. The attachment on the other side of the knittinganachine is so adjusted that the colored thread will be raised one needle behind time, whereby a diagonal stripe inclined in the opposite directionof the one above will be made, as shown in Fig. 5, and if these two diagonal stripes cross each other a diamond pattern, Fi. G, will be formed, it' all the pins T are on the wheel S. To make horizontal stripes the slide Q, with the cani R, is removed from the lever N, the pins T T are taken from the wheel S, and the lever N is allowed to be acted upon by the pins C of the wheel A', which then come in contact with the upper surface of the said lever.

To facilitate the explanation we will assume that there are eighteen pins, G', on the wheel A', which has eighteen teeth. It' one colored horizontal stripe is to be made in the knit fabric for every eighteen revolutions of the cylinder B, all the pins C' but one are removed.

IOO

IIO

IIS

It two stripes are desired adjoining each other, all the pins but two are removed, &c. Each pin G' in the Wheel A' makes a stripe. The stripe is made by the action ot' the pins C' on the lever N in the manner that has fully been set f'orth above. As the wheel A' has eighteen teeth, and as the wheel S rotates with the speed of the cylinder B, one rotation of the Wheel A' will correspond to eighteen rotations ofthe cylinder, and thus the number of stripes made in one rotation ofthe wheelA will correspond to the number made in eighteen rotations of the cylinder B.

To make a checker pattern the slideQis pivoted to the rod P', Whichis pivoted to thelower end of a lever, J', provided with a cam, K'. The pins T in the wheel S are adjusted to make a vertical stripe ot' the same Width as the fields of the checker pattern. The semicircular projection M' on the wheel A' presses on the cam K', thereby drawing the cam R toward the rear of the lever N, and causing the loop end of the lever H to be raised sooner. The assumption being that there are eighteen teeth on the Wheel A', the cam E willremain in this position for nine revolutions of the cylinder B, as the projection M' is only semicircular, but

. then the cam R is moved forward by the teeth T, and the lever H will be raised as ordinarily. After nine revolutions of the cylinder B the cam R is drawn back again, and after nine revolutions is moved forward, and in this manner is moved to and fro and produces the checker pattern shown in Fig. S.

I have described the colored thread F as passing through the loop I ofthe lever H, but just as Well the plain thread Gmay have been passed through this loop.

One or more attachments may be used at the same time with one knitting-machine.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. An attachment for knitting -machines made substantially as herein shown and described, an d consisting of a vibrating lever for guiding one of the threads, a frame for supporting said lever, a supplemental lever and means for connecting it to the thread-guiding lever, and a reciprocating adjustable cam which is removably secured'to the supplemental lever,in combination with apairof wheels which are provided with mea-ns for giving a reciprocating movement to the cam and vibratory movements to the levers, and devices connecting said Wheels, for the purpose of making stripes and other patterns, as set forth.

2. In an attachment for knitting-machines, the combination, with the levers N and H, cam R, connecting-rod P, spring f, upright K, and arm J, of the Wheel S, having pins T and Y, and the wheel A', having peripheral pins in engagement with pins Y, and laterally-projecting pins C', the pins T and C' being' removable and adjustable,substantially as shown and described, land for the purpose set forth.

3. In an attachment for knitting-machines, the combination, with a Wheel provided Wit-h laterally-projecting pins, of a vibrating lever and a sliding cam on this lever, substantially as herein shown and described, and for the purpose set forth, suitable mechanism being provided for operating the lever and cam, as set forth.

4. In an attachment for knitting-machines, the combination, with the levers N and H, of the Wheel S, having' pins T and Y, the sliding cam R, connecting-rods G' and H', the lever E', and the wheel A', having pins C', substantially as herein shown and described, and for the purpose set forth.

5. In an attachment for knitting-machines, the combination of the wheel S, provided with laterallyprojecti ng pins T, the lever N, sliding cam R, and means for operating the same, the connecting-rod P, the thread-guiding lever H, the upright K, arm J, and spring f, substantially as shown and described.

JAMES BENTON.

Vitnesses:

MARTIN L. STOVER, SAMUEL MoAK. 

